


Old Patterns

by WhatATimeWhatAmIDoing



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphynecentric, F/F, I was sad and I needed some fluff to cheer me up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 19:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6252715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatATimeWhatAmIDoing/pseuds/WhatATimeWhatAmIDoing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old patterns are hard to shake. But it's easier when you've got someone there to help. Especially when that someone is a super strong, super nice fish who loves you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Patterns

Old patterns. They were hard to shake.  
Everything was different now. They were on the surface, after all. Alphys’s sins had been righted—sort of. The amalgamates were happy now, at least, and she had Undyne to help her, as well as Sans and Frisk and Mettaton. Alphys couldn’t help but think that, after that first sunrise out in the human world, something in her had changed. She was right.  
But also wrong.

The first occurrence happened when she and Undyne were unpacking the boxes full of glassware for their house. They were making small conversation and just generally having a good time when Alphys’s hand slipped, and a glass fell out of her hand and shattered on the ground. Her hands immediately went to her mouth in horror, the smile running away from her face.  
“O-oh my g-gosh, I-I’m so s-sorry, I c-can’t believe that I j-just d-dropped it, I-I’m so sorry…” She stammered, hands shaking.

“No worries, Alphy! I’ll get a dustpan.” Undyne replied cheerily, walking over to the other side of the room and rummaging around in one of the cardboard boxes. When she returned, Alphys was curled up on the floor, hands covering her face. Undyne dropped the dustpan and knelt down beside her, resting a tentative hand on her shoulder.  
“Alphys? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” She asked, concern written all over her face. The lizard looked up at her, and Undyne was shocked to see tears streaming down her face.  
“I r-ruined e-everything, I c-can’t believe I’m s-so useless…” She mumbled, almost inaudibly. Undyne quickly wrapped her up in a surprisingly gentle hug. To her dismay, the lizard was trembling.

“It’s okay, Alphys. It’s all fine. I’m here. You’re not useless.” Undyne said, rubbing her hand in gentle circles on Alphys’s back. Alphys seemed to be calming down a bit. Her breathing getting more even, her sobs quieting and getting farther apart.  
“B-but I’m s-so—“ Alphys began, before Undyne cut her off.  
“Amazing? Talented? Inspiring?” Undyne’s grip tightened a little with each word, though it was never rough or uncomfortable. “You’re not useless. You’re the smartest, kindest, most passionate monster I’ve ever met. It’s all going to be okay.” Alphys didn’t protest after that, instead content to relax in Undyne’s embrace until the tears on her face dried. After a long time, Undyne pulled away to look at the lizard’s face, smiling when she saw that she was doing much better. “There you are.” Undyne leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before getting to her feet, holding out a hand to help her girlfriend off of the floor. “I’ll clean this up, and we’ll go get some Nice Cream. Sound good?” Alphys nodded, a little shakily, and within a few moments, they were outside, enjoying the lovely weather with each other.

Undyne never dug too deep into what had happened that day, which was fine by Alphys. Alphys had come to terms with the fact that maybe she wasn’t as fine as she thought. Despite the fact that everyone now knew the truth about her and still cared about her, she couldn’t stop herself from slipping back into old patterns. She couldn’t seem to shake them.

The signs that her self-doubt was resurfacing weren’t always as obvious as the incident with the glass. They were often much more subtle. She’d be showing Undyne or someone else something she’d been experimenting with, or an anime she really liked, and she’d add, almost reflexively,  
“I-It’s probably garbage anyways.”  
“I d-don’t have v-very g-good taste.”  
“It’s p-probably stupid, I shouldn’t have b-bothered you.”

She didn’t always mean the statements, they just happened to slip out. She had been saying them for so long that she didn’t really know how to stop. Most simply brushed off the statements, except for Undyne. Every time Alphys said something like that, she’d reach out and grab her hand, or give her a quick hug, some kind of affectionate physical contact, and would say,  
“Hey. If you like it, I’m sure it’s great. You’re the best monster I know, remember?” She’d say it with such confidence and sincerity that it was nearly impossible to argue, not that Alphys consciously wanted to. Those small assertions of her self-worth never failed to fill the lizard with warmth. Eventually ‘the best monster I know’ changed to ‘the monster I love,’ and that made Alphys even happier.

However, after a particularly frenzied chorus of apologies once Alphys spilled some ramen on the floor, the lizard was feeling particularly contemplative as she sat on the couch with Undyne, eyes trained on the TV screen in front of them, but not really paying attention. Undyne noticed.  
“Something wrong, Alphy?” She asked, training her eye on the lizard.  
“Do you think I can ever be fixed?” She blurted out, having been mulling over the question for the past 10 minutes. Undyne was taken aback, and before she could respond, Alphys continued.  
“I-I’m always screwing up, and I c-can’t even do self-confidence right, and I know that I’m not u-useless b-but I j-just wish I could make it through the day without remembering it all.” There was a brief silence, presumably as Undyne tried to figure out what to say.  
“You’re not broken, Alphys.” Undyne replied carefully. “Everyone screws up sometimes. Everyone needs some help sometimes. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be your brilliant, amazing self. And I’ll be there with you every step of the way.” Alphys leaned against Undyne, sighing softly. “Did I say something wrong?” Undyne asked, worried. Alphys leaned up to give her a quick kiss. Undyne turned a deep shade of teal. She always got so flustered whenever Alphys initiated romantic contact.  
“No. It was perfect. Thank you.” Alphys replied, taking Undyne’s hand in hers. “What did I do to deserve someone like you…” She wondered aloud, under her breath. Undyne heard her.  
“I should be asking you the same thing. The things you do, the things you say…I am constantly amazed by your strength and passion. I am crazily, irreversibly in love with you.” Alphys gave her hand a squeeze.  
“I love you too, Undyne.”

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of wrote this on a whim? The idea had been floating around in my head for a while, and I hope I did it justice. Anyways, if you liked it, please tell me! And if you have any constructive criticism for me, I'd love to hear that too!  
> Thank you so much for reading and have a great day.


End file.
